Ex-Yeadon official given prison term

MEDIA COURTHOUSE -- A judge in sentencing former Yeadon finance director Terri Phifer Vaughn to serve 12 to 24 months in jail said Vaughn has not accepted responsibility and her criminal conduct has impacted other borough workers because she won't account for the missing money.

"What happened to this money?" asked Judge Michael Coll. "She took the cash, trashed the checks and used the money for her own purposes."

Coll said he was hoping Vaughn would accept responsibility involving her conviction to charges she misappropriated $67,498 from borough coffers between July and September 2008.

The figure was whittled down to $17,134.39 because of checks that were reissued to the township, according to testimony during last week's sentencing hearing. She was ordered to make restitution for that amount.

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A tearful Vaughn told Coll she has always been a "law-abiding" citizen.

"These unfortunate circumstances that brought me before you are still hard to digest," she said. "It has been hard for anyone who knows me and what I stand for to accept this conviction. It's been very hard for me to accept that in the process of doing my job, I would be accused, let alone convicted, of a criminal action ... I assure you I committed no criminal act, but I respect the jury's verdict, as disappointing as it may be."

State Senior Deputy Attorney General John Flannery bristled at Vaughn's lack of remorse, stating the evidence was overwhelming that she committed the crimes of theft and unlawful use of a computer, as the jury found.

"This lack of remorse and her portrayal of herself as a victim, I find repugnant," said Flannery. "I find it repugnant to all the good workers of Yeadon. They all have a black eye."

Among those testifying was Sheila Briner, who worked as an assistant to Vaughn. Briner claimed "everybody is watching everybody else" because of Vaughn's crime.

"It's been hell for over two years," said Briner, noting she was called a liar during the trial by Vaughn's husband. "It's all been very stressful. All I want to see is that all of this is over."

A jury of seven men and five women in February convicted Vaughn, 49, of charges of theft by failure to make required disposition of funds and unlawful use of a computer. The jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict on two other theft counts.

Defense attorney Deborah Griffin had asked that Vaughn remain free pending appeals. But the judge said "no" and ordered Vaughn to begin serving the state sentence immediately.

Vaughn took the stand during the trial and also denied any wrongdoing, contending security was lax on the floor where her office is located.

When asked on cross-examination by Flannery what happened to the money, Vaughn answered she didn't know.

Flannery told the jury in his closing that Vaughn, in her post, was the one responsible for making certain the money handled by her office was deposited at the bank.

He pointed to testimony that deposit slips were missing, but Vaughn posted the transactions on a computer as if they were all accounted for in the bank.

"She used the computer to cover up her tracks," argued Flannery. "It was deceit. Every single one is posted as if it went to the bank.

"Her job was to know and keep track of the funds. That's why she was paid $61,800 a year -- not to take money from people and make it disappear. That's taxpayers' money."

Vaughn had been employed with the borough off and on from July 1999 through March 2009, when she was fired in the wake of the probe into missing money.

Included in the missing funds was about $2,500 from tickets and other police business that Yeadon Chief Donald Molineux testified he handed over to her in August 2008 for deposit.

Molineux, testifying for the prosecution during the four-day trial, said he asked Vaughn repeatedly for the deposit slips to show the money had gone to the bank, but never received any documentation.

Witnesses said Vaughn used a number of excuses concerning the missing slips, including that they "blew out the window."